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Saturday, February 22, 2014

100 YEARS AGO Feb. 22, 1914

In order that the drivers of automobiles on Main street in the busiest section of Little Rock may not be blinded by the strong headlights used on the street cars, officials of the Little Rock Railway and Electric Company have had a large number of “dimmers,” or screens, made. These “dimmers” are constructed of a thin sheet of iron with an opening six inches in diameter. Over this opening a screen resembling the common door screen is stretched.

50 YEARS AGO Feb. 22, 1964 PINE BLUFF - A 72-hour moratorium on anti-segregation demonstrations was announced at Pine Bluff today, and Negro comedian Dick Gregory left for Chicago. Both Gregory and Rev. Ben Grinage, leader of the Pine Bluff Movement, said the moves were made to remove pressure and tension that has built up in the last week. If the target of the demonstrations, Ray’s Trucker’s Inn, reopens, Grinage said demonstrations would resume despite the moratorium, and Gregory said he would return to Pine Bluff. He will return for a municipal court trial Tuesday on charges of refusing to leave a place of business when asked to do so. The arrest of Gregory and white civil rights worker William Hansen early Monday touched off the demonstrations. Ray Watson, co-owner of the cafe, said it would be closed indefinitely.

25 YEARS AGO Feb. 22, 1989

The House refused to ban contraceptives from public school grounds with a 50-38 vote that capped an hourlong debate Tuesday. House Bill 1329 needed 51 votes to pass. “The reality in the Delta is too many babies are having babies,” Rep. Ben McGee of Marion said. “If we make them available (at) public schools, we’re telling them (students), ‘Go ahead and do it,’” Rep. Tom Collier of Newport countered. The bill received 51 votes on the mechanical tote board, but it lost the vote on the roll call when Rep. Shirley Meacham Calhoun of Monroe forfeited her yes ballot because she was not in the chamber.

10 YEARS AGO Feb. 22, 2004

SBC began offering wireless fidelity Internet access at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport on Feb. 10, creating a competitive Wi-Fi market in the small terminal building. The airport, southwest of Bentonville in Highfill, is the first one in the country where SBC is offering its FreedomLink service, which will eventually offer wireless, or Wi-Fi, access at airports across the country.

Arkansas, Pages 14 on 02/22/2014